1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image communication apparatus, and more particularly to an image communication apparatus which stores a document image to be transmitted into a memory, and transmits it to a destination station or if connection is not made to the destination station upon calling, redials the destination station.
2. Related Background Art
A facsimile apparatus having a so-called auto-redialing function to automatically call a destination station a predetermined time later when an image has not been transmitted because the destination station was busy at the time of the preceding call, and, has been known.
In the auto-redialing of the prior art facsimile apparatus, if the dialed destination station is busy or makes no response, the same destination station is automatically redialed a predetermined time (for example, two minutes) later. If there is no response again, the destination station is redialed again the same length of time later, and if there is still no response, a notice of nonreception is recorded out, and the apparatus stands by. The number of times of auto-redialing may be selected by means of software through switch manipulation or programming.
However, the prior art auto-redialing function operates only for the preset number of times of redialing. Thus, in a facsimile apparatus which frequently requires a longer communication time than a telephone set does, the probability of the destination station being busy is relatively high and, in many cases, connection may not be achieved within the preset number of times of redialing.
In this regard, the preset number of times of redialing may be increased, but when the number is too big, a memory for the image to be transmitted will overflow, and a user who wants to transmit a document (for example, a document having a higher priority) may thus be inconvenienced by the redialing for the document which has previously been instructed to be transmitted being made but stored in the memory because of no connection being made to the destination station.
A facsimile apparatus having an auto-dialing U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,385 and 5,077,787, and in U.S. application Ser. No. 663,198 (filed on Feb. 28, 1991), and U.S. application Ser. No. 627,913 (filed on Dec. 17, 1990) but no proposal to solve the above problems has been made yet.